To Live Forever?
by Fiamma1
Summary: What if Winnie's great-granddaughter came looking for Jesse? Please read and review!! Chapter Eleven is now up!
1. Prologue

Prologue  
  
Lily Jackson, age fifteen, sat in a small restaurant in the town of Treegap, and gazed out the window. With her bright blue eyes and long dark hair, everyone had always said she was the spitting image of her great grandmother, Winnifred. Lily loved hearing this, for Grandma Winnie had been beautiful right up to the day she died, five years before. Lily loved everything about Grandma Winnie. She had been the funniest, liveliest person Lily had ever known. Grandma Winnie was the very reason, in fact, that Lily was sitting in this restaurant in Treegap, staring out at the street. Lily was waiting. waiting for Jesse Tuck. 


	2. Back Story

Chapter 2  
  
Grandma Winnie had told others about Jesse Tuck, when they had asked about her first love. But Lily was the only one she had told about the secret. Lily had been ten. It was the day before Grandma Winnie had died, and Lily was sitting on the edge of her bed, trying to deal with the fact that she was going to lose her great grandmother.  
  
"Why do you have to die?" She had demanded tearfully.  
  
"Everyone dies, Lily" Grandma Winnie replied calmly, laying a weak hand on Lily's arm. "It's the natural cycle of life. People die to make way for the new people being born every day. I've lived for a hundred years, and that's long enough for me."  
  
Lily hadn't understood this, of course. All she had understood was that one of her favorite people in the world was about to be taken from her.  
  
"I wish you could live forever, Grandma Winnie!" she exclaimed, collapsing onto the bed in tears.  
  
Grandma Winnie had looked at her for a long time, and then seemed to make up her mind about something.  
  
"I had the chance to, once."  
  
Lily looked up. She didn't question the truth of what her great grandmother was telling her. Grandma Winnie was not the type to lie to children, even if it was to make them feel better.  
  
"When?" she asked breathlessly.  
  
"When I was fifteen. I met a boy named Jesse Tuck, and I fell in love. He loved me, too, and he told me his secret." Grandma Winnie lowered her voice. "He and his family had once taken a drink from a magical spring, and it made them immortal. That means to live forever. They could not be hurt, they could not get diseases, and they would never die. Even though Jesse looked seventeen the year that I met him, he was actually one hundred and four."  
  
"Wow." Lily said.  
  
"Yes. It was an amazing secret, and he asked me to share it with him. The Tucks had to leave town, but he asked me to go to drink from the spring and to wait for him, and he would come back for me."  
  
Lily looked at her great grandmother's aged, lined face and felt a deep sorrow.  
  
"Why didn't you drink? Didn't you really love him?" Lily asked accusingly. How could anyone turn down such an offer?  
  
"I did. Or, at least I thought I did. Every day, for weeks, I would go to that spring and dip my hands into the magical water and think about drinking. And I would think about spending eternity with Jesse and I would bring the water up to my mouth. But I always let it run out through my fingers."  
  
"Why?"  
  
"Despite Jesse's declaration of love ringing in my ears, the words that stuck most in my mind were those of his father. The day I found out the Tuck's secret he rowed me out on the lake and explained a different side of eternity to me. He told me that he and his family weren't really living at all. They were merely stuck in time as the world grew and changed around them. He told me, 'Don't be afraid of death, Winnie, be afraid of the unlived life.'"  
  
"I don't understand."  
  
"I'm not sure that I did either. Not at that moment. Not when I was living in their magical oasis in the woods. But over the coming weeks I thought about his words more and more.  
  
I'm not sure my love for Jesse was the eternal kind, but in that time I spent with him, I loved him with all my heart, the way only a fifteen year old can. Meeting Jesse was the best thing to ever happen to me. He had all the time in the world, so he could be much freer that most people. He could really take the time to experience everything. He showed me how to love life. And in my tightly buttoned-up world I needed to be shown what freedom was like.  
  
But Lily, I was only fifteen. Such a big decision, to be made so young? So I decided to wait. I would wait a few years and then come back to the spring. But in those years I traveled and saw the world and loved life. And I felt I already had so much ahead of me. Life in which I could grow and change and live. And the life that the Tuck's were forced to live seemed so stagnant in comparison. I owed so much to Jesse, but I couldn't go back to him and live as he had to. Hiding myself from the rest of the world, not forming any friendships for fear of someone discovering my secret. I didn't need eternity. I had all my life, and that felt like enough."  
  
"I think I understand. You wanted to grow up." Lily said sadly, looking at Grandma Winnie.  
  
"I know this is a big secret for a little girl, but I can trust you to keep it, can't I Lily?"  
  
"Yes, Grandma Winnie." Lily said. She was going to question her more when her mother came into the room.  
  
"Come on, sweetheart. Grandma Winnie needs her rest."  
  
So Lily merely kissed Grandma Winnie and left the room.  
  
  
  
The next day the doctors called them all to tell them it was the end. Lily's mother brought her into the room to say goodbye. Lily was crying as she leaned in to kiss Grandma Winnie.  
  
"Lily?" she asked, slightly dully.  
  
"Yes, Grandma Winnie."  
  
"Lily," she repeated, pulling her great granddaughter closer. "Every ten years the Tuck boys meet their mother on Main Street here in Tree Gap. If they're still on schedule, they will be here in five years, on the first day of summer. It's a big decision, Lily. I hope five years is enough."  
  
"Thank you" Lily whispered as Grandma Winnie closed her eyes.  
  
Lily's family stayed in Tree Gap for the funeral and then went back to their home in Georgia. And for five years Lily thought about what Grandma Winnie had told her. 


	3. First Glimpse

Hey, quick author note! I was just looking at the other Tuck Everlasting fan fics and I saw that Sapphira has written one that sounds very similar to the plot of mine. I'd like to say a few things about this.  
  
I didn't know about hers when I wrote mine, so I'm not copying. I love, love, love some of Sapphira's other fic, so if you like my ideas, you should definitely check out hers, I'm sure its great. I'm not going to read hers, just to make sure my own ideas aren't influenced.  
  
Anyway, on to chapter three! (Side note: I really appreciate your reviews. Thanks!)  
  
  
  
  
  
Chapter Three- "First Glimpse"  
  
Now, five years later, Lily was here in Tree Gap and doubts filled her mind. She had run away from home to get here. She didn't know any other way to get to Tree Gap. Her parents were extremely overbearing and they never would have allowed her to come alone. And she certainly couldn't have brought them along. She had promised Grandma Winnie that she would never tell the secret.  
  
But what if the Tucks didn't come, and she had run away for nothing? After all, they had been driven from this town. Why would they continue to meet here? She must have been a fool to think this would work.  
  
Her parents would forgive her, of course. They probably wouldn't even get mad; they'd be so relieved to see her. But they would never trust her again. They would never let her out of their sight. Lily couldn't help but shudder at the thought of her closed up life at home becoming even more claustrophobic.  
  
Despite this, Lily was about to go back to her hotel room and call her parents when she heard a gleeful cry of "Jesse!" from outside. She looked up, startled, to see a middle aged woman embrace a teenage boy who had just climbed off a motorcycle.  
  
Lily gulped. There he was. Jesse Tuck. She studied him carefully. He was just as handsome as Grandma Winnie had said he was. He was a lean build, but Lily could see he was muscular underneath his tight t-shirt. His long shaggy hair fell into his eyes, making him look like a poet. Lily watched as Jesse ran to his mother, scooping her up in an enthusiastic hug. Yes, she could see why Grandma Winnie had fallen for this boy.  
  
Lily hadn't had much experience with boys in her fifteen years. And yet now she was supposed to be able to go up to this one? She was sure she couldn't do it. She couldn't even make herself move from the chair she sat in. So despite the fact that Lily had traveled far to find him, she remained seated inside, merely watching Jesse and Mae Tuck reunite.  
  
She wondered where they would go. Had they rebuilt their cabin in the woods in the last ninety years? Lily's mother had always complained of how Grandma Winnie had held on to that patch of woods, not allowing it to be cut down. And her scorn for Winnie's "sentimentality" had only increased when Grandma Winnie asked to be buried in the woods.  
  
As Lily watched Jesse, stuck to her chair as if she had been glued to it, she considered her options. She knew she could try and find the spring herself, but that didn't seem like the best idea. She wasn't really an outdoors person at all. And besides, Grandma Winnie had seemed to want her to find Jesse. Lily had a feeling that Winnie wanted her to give Jesse an explanation for why she hadn't gone to the spring.  
  
Lily watched as Jesse climbed back on his bike and Mae got into a nearby car. Jesse followed Mae down the street. They were definitely heading towards the Foster house, and the woods.  
  
"That's something, at least." Lily thought.  
  
Maybe she could follow them, once she had worked up the courage. It would be horrible if she lost them just because she had wimped out. Cursing herself for being a coward, she rose, paid her bill, and headed back to her hotel room to think.  
  
She would walk towards the Foster house tomorrow and see if she could spot them. And hopefully she would actually speak to them. 


	4. A Botched Meeting

Author note: Hi everyone! I want to thank Ocean Sun for reviewing my story. I'm being stingy and only posting more when I get a new review. Because what's the point of posting if no one is reading it, right? So if you want more of the story, please review!  
  
  
  
Chapter Four - "A Botched Meeting"  
  
Lily trudged down the still unpaved road, congratulating herself on thinking to wear jeans and a t-shirt in this heat and dust. She adjusted the knapsack she carried over her shoulder and peered into the dense trees that lined the road, hoping to spot movement. Every time she did, however, it turned out to be a squirrel or some other animal.  
  
She didn't know quite what she expected to see. She certainly wasn't being quiet enough to sneak up on anyone, even though she was trying, and neither of the Tucks would come out to greet her if they heard her walking by. In fact, they would probably turn around and head in the other direction, and they would do it a lot more quietly that she was.  
  
Lily sighed and stopped to brush some of the dust off her face and to take a drink from the water bottle she carried in her knapsack. In the silence this produced she thought she heard something. She remained very still and strained to hear. It sounded almost like music in the distance. The harder she listened the more certain she became that it was music. Music that sounded slightly tinny, as if coming from a music box.  
  
She continued forward down the road, watching the ground ahead of her to avoid stepping on any twigs and making noise. The light music grew louder the further she went down the road, and eventually she decided to turn off the road and onto a small path through the trees. Lily hadn't wanted to venture into the woods without knowing where she was going, but she had the music to guide her. She just followed the sound of it. She knew the real problem would be finding her way back.  
  
As the music grew louder she made her steps lighter, until she came to a wall of trees that clearly looked out on a small clearing. She took a few small tentative steps forward and peered through the trees.  
  
In the clearing was Jesse. He was sitting with his back to a large, ivy covered tree. In his hands was a small music box that he was continuously winding to produce the melody Lily had heard. He was gazing morosely at a headstone in front of him.  
  
"Funny place for a grave." Lily thought silently. She squinted at the writing and saw "Winnifred Foster Jackson". "So this is where Grandma Winnie is buried." She thought.  
  
The funeral procession hadn't gone to the burial site because, as Lily's father had put it, Grandma Winnie had asked to be 'ridiculously buried in the woods like a family pet.' Lily had not been taken to see the actual grave. She doubted if her parents had come out here, either. It didn't look like a spot many people had seen.  
  
Lily started slightly as she saw a small tear roll down Jesse's cheek as he looked at the grave.  
  
"So she really was his one true love. " Lily thought. "And he has been living without her these past ninety years."  
  
The thought was so sad that Lily almost started crying right along with Jesse. She knew she couldn't bring herself to break the spell of Jesse's reverie. Besides, would he want his thoughts of his time with Winnie interrupted by a reminder that she had met someone else and had the large sprawling family that Jesse never had?  
  
Lily slowly backed away from the clearing and then head back out of the woods. It wasn't as hard to find her way out as she had thought it would be. There was a bit of a path that she knew just her passing couldn't have created. Maybe it was from member of her family, but she suspected that it was more due to Jesse.  
  
"At least I know a good place to find him now." She thought with a small sigh. She wondered if she would ever find the right time to talk to him. Was there even a right time to have such a conversation?  
  
Lily returned to her hotel room and sat on the bed, thinking. She wouldn't be easy to track. She had paid for all her travel and accommodations in cash, and she hoped she had been discreet about it. But her parents would be worried, and eventually they would find her.  
  
She had left them a note the night she left. She hadn't wanted to, at first, because it would at least tell them to start checking bus stations, airports, and train stations. But then she had imagined them thinking she had been kidnapped or murdered, and she knew she couldn't do that to them. So she had left the note. All it had said was, "I have to leave. Please don't come after me. Love, Lily." But it would at least give them a track to start on. 


	5. First Encounter

Author notes: Hey, thanks for the reviews. Here's the next chapter, like I promised. Keep reviewing!  
  
  
  
Chapter Five - "First Encounter"  
  
The next day Lily decided she had waited too long already. She made up her mind that no matter what the circumstances she would speak to Jesse Tuck. So she once again pulled on jeans and a t-shirt and grabbed her knapsack and headed out.  
  
The walk to the clearing seemed much shorter today, when she wasn't jumping at every sound that came from the brush. She emerged from the trees into the clearing, only to find it empty. She had known it would be too simple if he had been right where she had left him the day before, of course. But a girl could hope, couldn't she?  
  
Since she knew of no other place to look for Jesse, Lily settled down to wait. She had brought a book and for awhile she read silently, ignoring her surroundings. After awhile, however, she put down her book and thought about the fact that she was sitting practically on top of a grave. Lily had always thought of cemeteries as scary places, but the atmosphere here was very different. If anything, it was rather nice to be here at Grandma Winnie's grave. It gave her a sense of nearness to Grandma Winnie that she hadn't felt in these five years since she had passed away.  
  
Lily moved closer to the headstone and ran her fingers over the engraving. Winnifred Foster Jackson. A tear ran down Lily's face. She missed Grandma Winnie so much. She had been the one that Lily always went to with her problems. Even when she was several states away, Grandma Winnie was always there for her. And Lily felt that she needed her most of all right now.  
  
"Grandma Winnie." She said softly, uncertainly into the air. Wasn't it only crazy people who talked to people who weren't there?  
  
"I don't know what to do without you here to help me." Lily continued, figuring no one but the squirrels were around to judge her, and she didn't really care what they thought. It just felt good to be talking to Grandma Winnie again.  
  
"This is a really big decision you've left me with. I think I made up my mind, but I'm so unsure. I mean, you were faced with the same decision, and you chose the opposite. But what would you do now, in my shoes? Would you still make the same decision?"  
  
Lily brushed away the tears she had shed and looked at her watch. She had been waiting here for hours. She sighed. A few more wouldn't hurt. She curled up more comfortably against the headstone and gazed at the woods around her. They really were beautiful. No wonder Grandma Winnie had held such a special place for them in her heart. Seeing the world was exciting, but who wouldn't want to always know they could come home to these woods? Lily was lost in these thoughts as she slowly drifted to sleep.  
  
She awoke groggily but still managed to immediately note two things. One: it was dusk, so she must have slept for hours, and two: someone was staring at her. This realization had her sitting up quickly and then grimacing at the stiffness in her joints. Apparently a grave was not the most comfortable place to sleep, she thought wryly.  
  
Lily looked up at the figure that stood on the edge of the clearing. Just from the silhouette she could tell it was Jesse. Her heart began to race. This was it. He stepped further into the clearing and into the failing light.  
  
"Are you lost?" he asked. He didn't look pleased to find her there. While she might have played the helpless female and told him yes, she was lost, his tone had her snapping,  
  
"No, as a matter of fact, I'm not." She immediately regretted it, scolding herself for becoming upset at his tone. He was startled to find her here, after all. But she had always been guilty of speaking first, thinking later. It was something Grandma Winnie said she had suffer from, too.  
  
"Well, if you're not lost, what are you doing here?" He asked a trifle more patiently. He had clearly been hoping to set her on her way and be rid of her, but now seemed resigned to the fact that that wasn't going to happen.  
  
"Well, I was sleeping." Lily said, stalling. He smiled slightly.  
  
"So I noticed. Bit of an unconventional place to sleep."  
  
Lily decided that the truth, or at least the partial truth, would be her best bet.  
  
"Not when you love the person who's grave you're sleeping on." She replied quietly. His eyes widened.  
  
"You knew Winnie Foster. I mean, Jackson." He corrected himself quickly.  
  
"Yes," she said, standing up and reaching out a hand to him. "I'm Lily Jackson, Winnie's great granddaughter."  
  
She could tell she had stunned him, for it to him awhile to acknowledge her outstretched hand and shake it.  
  
"Great granddaughter." He repeated, shaking his heard. "Should have known. Look just like her." He muttered to himself, not mentioning the fact that when he had first entered the clearing he had thought she really was Winnie. His heart had leaped before he realized his mistake.  
  
"Did you know her?" Lily asked, playing dumb.  
  
"Briefly." He replied. Then he seemed to think of something. "You should meet my mother. She truly loved Winnie, and she'd like to meet you."  
  
"Alright." Lily said, picking up her knapsack. "Lead the way."  
  
As they left the clearing, she looked at him out of the corner of her eye.  
  
"By the way, you never introduced yourself." 


	6. A Walk Through the Woods

Hey guys! I want to thank everyone for their reviews. Please keep reviewing!! I only post when I get new reviews.  
  
  
  
Chapter Six- "A Walk Through the Woods"  
  
"No, I didn't" was all Jesse replied.  
  
Lily smirked at his mysteriousness. She assumed that he didn't want to tell her his name because Grandma Winnie might have mentioned him in the past. She was amused at the thought that he was worried about her knowing his name, when she knew so very much more about him.  
  
Since Jesse didn't seem inclined to talk, Lily looked at her surroundings. There wasn't much to see. Dusk had passed into full night and very little moonlight was filtering down to them through the trees. Lily suddenly got the image of eyes watching her out of the blackness around her, and quickened her pace to catch up with Jesse.  
  
"So," she said, trying to sound conversational, "What kind of wild animals are there out here?"  
  
He looked at her, amused. "Mostly squirrels. Besides, I won't let anything get you. My mother would be so disappointed if you got eaten before she got to meet you."  
  
Lily laughed. Maybe Jesse had more of a personality than he was letting on. Although, even if he didn't, she told herself, great heartbreak can permanently damage people. Jesse shouldn't be any different. Her heart once again softened towards the boy, wondering when he had come back and realized Winnie hadn't waited for him. It must have been awful.  
  
She shot him a sidelong glance. He looked chipper enough now, but she had seen his tears the day before and would never forget them.  
  
"Did your mother know my great-grandmother well?" Lily asked, to change the subject in her own mind.  
  
"She didn't know her for long, but Mae loved Winnie when she was here." Jesse replied. Lily knew he must not have been thinking about what he said, or he would have called Grandma Winnie Mrs. Jackson. Saying 'Winnie' told that he had known her well when she was young. And Lily knew he hadn't meant to give that away, although he didn't seem aware of his mistake. She could mention it and tease him a little, but she decided against it. She didn't want to tease him about Grandma Winnie.  
  
"These woods are, um beautiful." Lily said, not sounding very sincere.  
  
"Are you afraid of the dark, city girl?" he asked with a laugh.  
  
"I'm not a city girl. I'm a suburb girl. And no, I'm not afraid of the dark. I just don't usually go traipsing through unfamiliar woods at night." Or any woods for that matter, she added to herself.  
  
"Well, don't worry. They're not unfamiliar to me. I know every bit of these woods." Jesse reassured her.  
  
Lily smiled. After having lived in them on and off for about 175 years, she bet he knew them well.  
  
Suddenly, Lily was relieved to see, a soft light appeared ahead of them. A little bit further and she realized they were coming up to a homey little cabin nestled on the edge of a lake. The trees grew up close around it, but the light coming from the cabin make the surroundings look like the friendliest woods Lily had every seen. But then a thought struck her.  
  
"I thought this burned down?" She wondered out loud, even though she was only talking to herself.  
  
"What?" Jesse asked sharply.  
  
Lily realized her mistake. She had repeated a bit of information Grandma Winnie had told her.  
  
"Oh, I just remember hearing about a fire in a cabin in these woods a long time ago." Lily replied, purposefully vague. "And I thought I had heard it was the only house out here."  
  
Jesse looked relieved.  
  
"Yeah, well, a cabin did burn down near here close to a hundred years ago. Some incident involving angry townspeople. But my family, they were the ones who owned it, came back a long time after and rebuilt it close to the original site."  
  
Lily was amused at the way he said 'my family'. Of course, anyone would take him to mean his ancestors, but he worded it in a way so he wasn't actually lying to her. All she replied, however, was,  
  
"I see. It's a nice spot."  
  
"Yeah," Jesse said, leading her inside. 


	7. Meeting Mae

Hey everyone!! I want to thank Just Call Me Banana for her review. As long as I know someone out there is reading, I'll definitely keep posting. It's funny, because when I first posted, I thought I wouldn't care about reviews. Its amazing how fast you get hooked on getting them. I guess that's the reason I hold my chapters "ransom" as some other posters call it. Anyway, keep them coming!!  
  
By the way, I realized I haven't been doing a disclaimer. I'm not sure if I have to; I'm fuzzy on the rules, but just to be sure: I (obviously) don't own Tuck Everlasting, which encompasses the characters of Jesse and Mae. I do, I guess, own Lily. The lovely figment of my imagination. Okay, now that that is over with, on the chapter. I hope you like it!!  
  
Chapter Seven -- "Meeting Mae"  
  
As Lily and Jesse stepped inside the cabin, he called,  
  
"Mae? We have a visitor."  
  
The woman Lily had seen two days before came bustling out of what seemed to be the kitchen, wiping flour off of her hands. She was clearly startled. Lily wondered if this was how she had looked when Grandma Winnie was first brought to the cabin. Of course, her clothes would have been different. Today Mae wore jeans and a blue v-neck t-shirt. Lily had seen picture of what Grandma Winnie's mother had worn in those days, but she just couldn't picture Mae in such a fussy outfit.  
  
Mae looked from Lily to Jesse and then back again.  
  
"A visitor" she said slowly. She then seemed to try and recover her composure. "How nice?" But it was more of a question than the statement it was intended as.  
  
"Mae, this is Lily Jackson. Winnifred Jackson's great granddaughter." Jesse said carefully. Mae's eyes widened.  
  
"Great Granddaughter?!" she exclaimed. "Oh, my."  
  
Lily decided it was about time she joined this exchange, so she stepped forward and extended her hand.  
  
"Its nice to meet you Mrs. - Mae." She said, deliberately faltering over the name. "I'm sorry. You're son, I presume, never introduced himself." She shot a reproachful glance at Jesse, thinking, "Ha!" Mae looked properly shocked.  
  
"What bad manners! I should pretend that he isn't really my son. I'm Mrs. Tuck, but you can go on calling me Mae. And the rude boy who brought you here is Jesse. Jesse Tuck."  
  
Lily nearly laughed as she saw Jesse's face. He had started forward as Mae said him name. But he didn't manage to stop her. Lily decided that she had been nice by not teasing him for too long.  
  
"Tuck." She said, pretending to think. "The name sounds familiar."  
  
Jesse looked crestfallen and Mae seemed to realize her mistake.  
  
"Well, yes, it should." She said quickly. "We Tucks have lived in this area for a long time. And I'm sure your great grandmother mentioned us sometime. We were dear friends."  
  
Lily had to say, it was a good recovery.  
  
"When did you know Grandma Winnie?" She asked innocently.  
  
"Oh, a long time ago." Mae responded.  
  
"You must have been quite young then." Lily said with a smirk she could barely hide. She wasn't letting them off that easy.  
  
"Oh. Right. Yes, I was." Mae said.  
  
Lily smiled sweetly and decided not to press her any further.  
  
"This is such an adorable cabin, Mrs. Tuck. I mean, Mae. "Lily said looking around. It was adorable, small but homey. There was a general living area, a kitchen, and a table that seemed to mark the dining room. A staircase to the left told her the bedrooms must be upstairs.  
  
"Thank you, dear. " Mae said. "Please, sit down. You must be tired. Who knows how long Jesse had you traipsing through the woods for."  
  
"Mae, you make me sound like a monster." Jesse chided.  
  
"It wasn't that bad" Lily assured Mae with a smile. She could see the Tucks were going to be fun to be around. Her own parents never joked, Lily thought sullenly. They were too busy being cautious to joke.  
  
"Well, good" Mae said. "I was just making dinner and there's plenty to go around. Surely you'll join us?"  
  
Lily smiled broadly. "I'd love to." 


	8. Dinner Conversation

Hey guys!! Thanks so much for the reviews! I'm up to ten!! (As you can tell, I'm way excited.) Anyway, keep them coming. They make me so happy.  
  
  
  
  
  
Chapter Eight -"Dinner Conversation"  
  
Over a dinner of baked fish and potatoes, the Tucks questioned Lily about her life.  
  
"So, do you live in the Foster place, then?" Mae asked.  
  
"Oh, no. I'm from Georgia. In fact, I don't think anyone is living in the house now."  
  
"Oh? Then who are you staying with?" Mae asked. Lily's eyes widened. She practically smacked herself on the forehead.  
  
"Well, um. The hotel." She faltered. "I'm staying at the hotel. With my parents. Of course."  
  
Oh my god! She thought to herself. When did I become such a bad liar? Luckily the Tucks didn't press the issue. Probably because they have secrets of their own, Lily thought.  
  
"Where in Georgia?" Jesse asked, chewing.  
  
Nice manners, Lily scoffed. 194 years old, and he hasn't learned not to talk with his mouth full?  
  
"Outside of Atlanta."  
  
"Why so far from here?" Mae asked. "Isn't this where your dad grew up?"  
  
"Yes. But my mom's from Georgia. A real southern belle. And my dad was happy to get away from the homestead."  
  
"How come?" Jesse asked, clearly startled by the fact that anyone would want to leave his woods.  
  
"So many generations of Fosters and then Jacksons had lived here. I guess he just wanted to get away from all that tradition."  
  
"I suppose I can see the reasoning behind that." Mae said. "So, tell us about your family."  
  
"Maybe your great grandfather for instance?" Jesse interjected anxiously.  
  
Lily looked at him, her eyes sad. Poor Jesse, she thought. He's probably been wondering about the man who was able to capture Winnie's heart for decades. Luckily, Lily didn't have much to tell him.  
  
"I never knew him. He died before I was born."  
  
"Oh." Jesse said, slightly crestfallen. "Well, you must have heard stories about him. From your great grandmother, maybe?"  
  
She had heard stories from Grandma Winnie. But she couldn't bring herself to tell Jesse about all the good times Grandma Winnie had recounted. He may think he wants to hear it, Lily thought, but I know it will shatter his already broken heart.  
  
"I don't remember any." She said quickly. "So, tell me, it is just you two?"  
  
"No." Mae said, laying a comforting hand over Jesse's in a gesture she clearly hoped Lily wouldn't notice. "My husband, Angus, is in California. This is more of a summer home for us, but Angus doesn't like to come here."  
  
Still upset about being run out of town, no doubt, Lily thought to herself.  
  
"And Jesse's big brother Miles is in Paris, I believe." Mae continued.  
  
"Well, its nice the two of you can come here together." Lily said.  
  
"Yes, it is. I miss my boys when they're not around." Mae said, smiling warmly at Jesse.  
  
"Its getting late." Jesse commented as he rose to clear their dishes.  
  
"Yes, it is." Mae said, glancing at the clock and then at Lily. "I don't suppose you'd like to spend the night? We get so few visitors."  
  
Lily desperately wanted to spend the night and integrate herself in with the Tucks.  
  
"You could call your parents and ask them." Mae suggested.  
  
My parents? Lily thought, horrified. She couldn't very well call them. But Mae would expect her to, if she was to stay. Stupid lies! She thought angrily as she was forced to reply:  
  
"No, thank you. I think my parents will want me back. But perhaps I could visit again?"  
  
Mae's face had fallen, but perked up at her suggestion.  
  
"That would be lovely. How about tomorrow?"  
  
"Great." Lily said, relieved.  
  
"Why don't you give her a ride home?" Mae asked Jesse.  
  
Lily's eyes widened. On his bike? She wasn't sure she was ready to be that close to such a cute boy. I am so hopeless, she thought despairingly.  
  
"Oh, it's a nice night. I'd rather walk, thanks. But maybe you could walk me to the edge of the woods?" She asked him, picturing herself wandering lost in the woods all night.  
  
"Sure." He replied.  
  
She said goodbye to Mae and they left the cabin. They walked silently through the trees. Lily couldn't think of anything to say, and Jesse didn't seem inclined to talk.  
  
They reached the edge of the woods without having said a word. She turned and looked at him, at his sad, poetic eyes. She couldn't blame him. If she reminded everyone else of Grandma Winnie, she must do the same for him.  
  
"It was nice to meet you, Jesse Tuck." She said, at last. He smiled nervously and replied:  
  
"See you tomorrow." Then he turned and walked away.  
  
"Tomorrow." She echoed softly as she watched him disappear into the trees.  
  
* * * * * * * * * * * *  
  
Hey again! I'm sure you guys think I'm dragging this out on purpose, but I promise the story will start to speed up soon. The Tucks will find out all of Lily's secrets. Not in the next chapter, but soon. Keep reviewing!! 


	9. A Ride to the Cabin

Hey everyone! Wow, three reviews for one chapter!! You guys have made me so happy, you have no idea! Sorry it's not a longer chapter, but in a few they'll start to get much longer. Keep the reviews coming, they make me so happy!!!  
  
  
  
  
  
Chapter Nine - "A Ride to the Cabin"  
  
Today will begin the rest of my life, Lily thought as she woke. It was a dramatic statement, but hopefully it would be true. Today she would begin her campaign to win over the Tucks. And then, hopefully, they would ask her to join them. Hopefully.  
  
Lily got out of bed and showered and dressed. She picked up her knapsack and looked in at the one item she had been carrying with her the past two days. It was her only weapon in her fight to win over the Tucks. On top of that she placed a few changes of clothes. She hoped that the next time she came back to this hotel room it would just be to gather her belongings.  
  
She slung the knapsack over her shoulders, checked her hair in the mirror, and then left the room. She stealthily walked through the lobby, trying to be inconspicuous. She didn't want the hotel staff to be aware of her comings and goings, or, for that matter, her presence. The less they knew about her, the less they'd be able to tell her parents when they eventually found the hotel.  
  
Lily stepped out of the hotel and started to stride down the street, when she heard someone call her name. She turned around, fearing the worst, to find Jesse walking towards her from the very restaurant that she had sat in three days before.  
  
"Hey." He said, as he caught up to her.  
  
"Hi." She replied uncertainly. What was he doing here?  
  
"Mae wanted me to give you a ride to the cabin." He said, answering her silent question.  
  
"Oh. Thanks."  
  
"My bike's over there" he said, gesturing across the street.  
  
His bike. Oh, boy, she sighed.  
  
"So what's in the knapsack?" He asked as they approached the motorcycle.  
  
"Clothes. My parents said I could stay the night tonight. That is, if Mae asks me."  
  
"I'm sure she will. She was disappointed you couldn't stay last night."  
  
"So was I." Lily replied honestly.  
  
Jesse looked at her a little curiously as he handed her a bike helmet. She took it and put it on, wondering what it would do to her hair.  
  
Jesse got on the bike and instructed, "Okay. Just climb on behind me."  
  
She did as she was told, gingerly sliding onto the seat, careful not to touch him.  
  
"Um, you're going to have to hold on. So you don't fall off."  
  
"Right." She mumbled, lightly resting her hands on the sides of his waist.  
  
He laughed a little and started the bike, and took off down the street. They weren't going that fast, but Lily gasped as they started and forgot all her embarrassment as she clung to Jesse, sliding her arms all the way around him.  
  
The wind whipped in her face as they seemed to fly down the street. It was nothing like riding in a car. The sense of openness, of vulnerability, was overwhelming. There was nothing between her and the road, and she was acutely aware of it. She decided the best thing to do would be to close her eyes and hold on.  
  
Luckily, it was a short trip, but the part through the woods was rough. There was barely more than a deer path serving as the road, and the sound of the trees whipping by was not a pleasant one. Lily sighed with relief as they reached the cabin. Motorcycles may be fun for some people, but not for me, she thought vehemently.  
  
She and Jesse climbed off the bike and removed their helmets. He smiled at her.  
  
"Scared?"  
  
She couldn't pretend otherwise.  
  
"Yes." She admitted. "Didn't you notice?"  
  
"A little." He said, rubbing his sides where she had clung to him.  
  
She smacked him lightly on the arm, her first casual gesture with him.  
  
"It was not that bad!" She exclaimed, laughing.  
  
He grinned and was about to respond as Mae came out of the house.  
  
"Good! You caught her before she walked all the way out here."  
  
"Yes, I did. But I think I gave her quite a scare on my bike."  
  
Mae patted Lily sympathetically on the arm. "Isn't that thing terrible? I tried to get him to take my car, but he wouldn't."  
  
"I like my bike." Jesse defended himself.  
  
"But you're the only one." Mae shot back.  
  
Lily laughed. She was pleased to see she was already comfortable with the Tucks. They were such easy going people; it was hard not to be. 


	10. Jesse's Dark Thoughts

Hey everyone! Thanks so much for the reviews! They make me very happy. Anyway, sorry its been so long since I last posted, I've been crazy busy. Anyway, here's the next chapter. Its kind of short. Sorry about that. But don't let it stop you from reviewing!!  
  
  
  
Chapter Ten - "Jesse's Dark Thoughts"  
  
  
  
As they headed inside the house Lily was a little nervous. She wasn't sure how the day was going to go. What would they do out here in the woods? She didn't think she had enough conversation in her to fill up a whole day.  
  
Fortunately Mae had a suggestion ready. "Have you ever made bread, Lily?"  
  
"Made? No." Lily said, surprised. She didn't think any one she knew had ever made bread.  
  
"Do your cooks do that for you?" Jesse asked, a little cynically.  
  
"I don't have a cook." Lily said with a confused laugh.  
  
"Aren't you wealthy?" Jesse asked.  
  
"We're well off, but not wealthy. We don't have servants." Lily laughed at the very idea. "A maid would be nice, though."  
  
"Winnie, I mean Mrs. Jackson, was rich, right? When she was young, at least."  
  
"I guess." Lily said slowly. "I never really thought about it."  
  
"People like that, used to all that privilege, can't come and live like us out here. At least, not for long. People like that need their nice things." Jesse said darkly.  
  
Suddenly it dawned on Lily what he was talking about. He meant Grandma Winnie! Lily bristled at the having to keep her mouth shut. She wanted to yell at him, 'She didn't leave you for money!' She couldn't stand anyone thinking of Grandma Winnie like that. But all she could do was glare, and even that wasn't a good idea.  
  
Not for the first time, Lily cursed all the lies she had told. She wished she could have come up to Jesse for the first time and said, 'I'm Winnie Fosters great granddaughter and I want to live forever.'  
  
But Jesse never would take her to the spring under those circumstances. He had invited Winnie to share eternity with him out of love. Lily hoped he would do it for her out of like. But he wouldn't just let a stranger who thought they wanted to live forever drink from his spring. And so Lily had to scheme and lie to people she was beginning to really like.  
  
"So, dear." Mae said, interrupting her annoyance. "Would you like to help me bake bread?"  
  
Lily instructed herself to snap out of it, and replied, "I'd love to."  
  
Jesse announced he was going to go fishing and stormed out of the house, obviously in a foul mood. Lily couldn't believe he would imagine such a thing about Grandma Winnie. She had loved him with a pure heart, and now he imagined she had left him for money. For servants and pretty dresses and big houses. For possessions. Grandma Winnie hadn't cared about those things. She had cared about family and love and the great wide world around her. She had used her money to look after animals and the sick and the poor. Maybe Jesse just told himself those things about Winnie to east the pain, but as Lily watched him leave the house, it was with a heavy heart. 


	11. A Morning With the Tucks

Hey everyone!! Sorry its been so long since I last posted, I was holding out to see if I could get four reviews for one chapter. And would you look at that, I did! (You can't see, but there's definitely a dance of joy involved here.) So thank you to everyone who reviewed, you've made my day. And to Puru Girl: I promise I'll finish this story out. I hate those people who just leave stories hanging, too. Alright, on with the next chapter. I hope you like!  
  
Chapter Eleven - "A morning with the Tucks"  
  
Over the next few hours Lily realized the reason why she had never baked bread was because it was much easier to just buy a loaf at the store. Making it at home took such a long time! Lily was aware that she wasn't a patient person, and decided it was a good thing she had never learned how to cook.  
  
Luckily Mae was a patient person. As the bread rose she pulled Lily over to the couch to sit and talk.  
  
"I'm sorry about Jesse. He sometimes gets into moods like that for no reason." Mae said.  
  
Lily knew it wasn't for no reason, but Mae clearly couldn't explain the real reason for Jesse's anger.  
  
"Its okay. I can be moody too." Lily responded lightly.  
  
"He really does seem to like you. He doesn't often take to people anymore."  
  
"Well, then I guess I should feel lucky."  
  
Mae smiled a little wistfully. "He used to be such a different boy, so full of life. Now he's more like his brother Miles. Sad and bitter."  
  
"He doesn't seem that sad or bitter, most of the time." Lily assured her.  
  
"I think you're good for him. He needs to be around a girl again."  
  
Lily raised a questioning eyebrow at this. She was playing her part well, pretending she knew nothing about Grandma Winnie and Jesse.  
  
"It was a great heartbreak." Mae explained with a sigh. "For Jesse and for Miles. Neither one was the same afterwards. It's too bad. I miss how vivacious Jesse used to be."  
  
"Maybe he'll get over it." Lily said, not because she believed it, but to comfort Mae.  
  
"Yes." Mae said, brightening. "Maybe you'll help with that."  
  
Lily was astounded. Was Mae trying to suggest she and Jesse get together? "I hope we can be friends" Lily responded, emphasizing 'friends'. It wouldn't help her to have Mae trying to play matchmaker. And what guy would go from one girl to her great granddaughter? Sure, not many got the chance, but it seemed wrong. Like dating your ex's sister or something.  
  
"Of course." Mae said, a little disappointed. "Friends."  
  
They went to check on the rising bread, but it wasn't nearly done.  
  
"Wow, this takes forever." Lily said. Mae smiled.  
  
"A few hours."  
  
"Ugh. I don't know how you do it."  
  
"A couple of hours isn't that long."  
  
'Sure, not to you', Lily thought. To other people it might seem like a lifetime. If Lily ever got to be like Mae, she'd bake bread all the time. But right now she was growing impatient.  
  
"Have you ever cooked?" Mae asked Lily to distract her from the wait. She had begun to fidget around the kitchen.  
  
"No. I mean, I can make eggs and boil pasta, but that's it."  
  
"Didn't your mother teach you?" Mae asked, surprised. Lily laughed.  
  
"My mother can't even cook pasta. She's hopeless in the kitchen."  
  
"Oh. So does your father do the cooking?" Mae asked.  
  
"Not, Dad's just as bad. Mostly we get take out or ready made stuff from the supermarket."  
  
"That's terrible!" Mae exclaimed.  
  
"It's not that bad." Lily assured her.  
  
"Well, I'm going to see to it hat you can cook. You can help me with the meals today."  
  
"Okay." Lily said hesitantly. "But I don't want to ruin them."  
  
Mae laughed heartily. "Don't be so timid, child! Grab on to new experiences!"  
  
Lily smiled. That was exactly what she was trying to do.  
  
Lily and Mae chatted for the rest of the time the bread took to rise. Lily told Mae about school and her friends, but she avoided the subject of family.  
  
Just as they were putting the risen bread dough into the oven, Jesse came back into the house. He was carrying several small fish and a fishing pole. He propped the pole by the door and handed the fish to Mae. As he washed his hands of fish slime he turned to Lily.  
  
"I'm sorry about before, if I seemed mad." He said quietly.  
  
"Its no big deal." She assured him.  
  
"It wasn't about you."  
  
"I know."  
  
"You do?" He asked, surprised.  
  
"Yea. I sometimes get like that for no reason, too."  
  
Jesse smiled and Lily smiled back. Lily looked over to Mae, and noticed the woman cleaning the fish.  
  
"Ewww!" She exclaimed at the slimy, disgusting sight. Mae laughed.  
  
"It does take some getting used to. I think this is a part of cooking class you can be excused from."  
  
"Oh, thank goodness!" Lily sighed.  
  
"Why don't you go outside with Jesse? From what you were telling me I don't think you spend nearly enough time outdoors."  
  
She was right about that, Lily thought. Her parents barely let her out of the house. She had never really been in woods before she came here.  
  
"That would be nice." She replied, glancing at Jesse. "But if Jesse doesn't want to, I could go alone."  
  
"No, of course I'll go." He replied cheerfully. "Anything to get away from those fish." He whispered to Lily as they walked to the door. She cracked up.  
  
"I'll be back in plenty of time for my cooking lesson." She told Mae.  
  
"Have fun." Mae responded, shooing them out the door.  
  
Outside they stood on the small porch, looking out at the lake. Lily had no idea what to say to Jesse, so she waited for him to speak.  
  
"Are you homesick?" He asked, after a long silence. Lily was surprised at the question.  
  
"Not really. Why?"  
  
"No matter where I go, how far I travel, I always feel at pull to return to this place. These woods, this lake." He said, gazing out over the water.  
  
"That must be nice." Lily said. "My house in Georgia never feels like a home. I have more of a connection to this place than I do to my real home."  
  
"Really?" Jesse asked, turning to look at her for the first time since they stepped out of the cabin. "Why would that be?"  
  
"Grandma Winnie." Lily replied. She could have avoided the topic of Winnie, but Lily felt that they were opening up to each other. She wanted to say what she really felt. "She was here and that made this the best place in the world. I always longed for our next trip up here, as much as my father dreaded them. I couldn't convince my parents to travel often, but when we did, we came here. These woods were special to Grandma Winnie, so they were magical to me. She made everything magical to me."  
  
"You were lucky to have her."  
  
"Yes, I was." Lily replied simply.  
  
Jesse looked out at the lake again, and then said, "Come on. I thought we were going for a walk."  
  
Lily smiled and followed him as he led her off the porch. He walked wit the air of someone who knew the way and Lily ambled behind him, breathing in the smell of the air and the nature all around her. Along the side of the small path they walked she spotted some sweet, white wildflowers. Smiling, she stooped to pick one. She admired its delicate beauty, and then placed it behind her ear. When she had all the time in the world she would make herself a crown of them.  
  
Jesse paused on the path ahead of her, aware that she was no longer right behind him. He turned to see her stand and smile at him, the lovely flower tucked into her flowing hair. He gazed at her a moment and then returned the smile.  
  
Lily thought her heart had stopped. She had seen him turn and the flicker of amusement in his eyes as he saw shy she had stopped. And then something in his eyes had changed. A boy had never looked at her like that before, and she could have sworn her heart stopped beating. And then it started again when she had a thought. Was that look in his eyes for her, or for Winnie? She smiled nervously and caught up with him.  
  
"Sorry for the detour."  
  
"Not at all." He replied, brushing a finger over the flower in her hair. "That's what the flowers are there for."  
  
She looked up into his smoky eyes and sighed. Why did she have to look so much like Grandma Winnie?  
  
"So where are we going?" She asked, resuming walking to keep her eyes off Jesse.  
  
"For a walk." He replied with a laugh.  
  
"You know what I meant." She said, rolling her eyes.  
  
"When you go for a walk, you don't have to have a destination."  
  
"So, we're just ambling?" She asked, bewildered.  
  
"Right. Ambling."  
  
"I don't think I've ever just gone on a walk. I was always going somewhere."  
  
"That's a bad way to go through life." Jesse said wisely. "You need to be able to slow down and enjoy the wildflowers."  
  
"That sounds like the nicest thing in the world." Lily said, wistfully.  
  
"What kind of life have you been leading, where you never get to just amble?" Jesse asked.  
  
"Not the kind I want to be leading." Lily replied.  
  
"Then I think we need to change that." He said with a grin.  
  
'We?' she thought. Why did she suddenly want to be a 'we' with Jesse?  
  
"Come on. I want to show you something?" He said playfully. He started off down the path and Lily had to speed up to keep up with him.  
  
At last they seemed to reach a destination. Jesse spread out his arms. "There."  
  
Lily looked up at the massive tower of rock and drew in her breath. Not only because of its beauty, but because she knew what this was. The Eiffel tower. He had taken Grandma Winnie here. He had been here with the girl he loved, and now he was here with her.  
  
"Its beautiful." She replied, a little numbly. Jesse didn't seem to notice.  
  
"You have to come to the top." He said, taking her hand and pulling her towards it. She jerked her hand back like she'd been burned.  
  
"Maybe later. I promised Mae I would be back to help with lunch."  
  
"Okay." He said slowly, obviously confused. He wondered if he had done something wrong. And Lily was wondering if she was a substitute Winnie. 


End file.
